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Chapter Seven

Afterwards

1896

She had recently completed a work entitled “Reminiscences of the White House, which is now in

the hands of Robert T. Lincoln, who will publish it in McClure’s magazine during the coming

year.

Marriage of John Todd Grimsley to Alithea T. Fuller

On May 20, 1896, John Todd Grimsley, the son of Elizabeth, married Alithea T. Fuller,

at her home in Springfield. They had two [THREE] children: Elizabeth M. Grimsley, born in

November 1897 in Illinois, and Alithea T. Grimsley, born in about 1903 in Illinois.

Wednesday morning, at 10 o’clock, a pretty home wedding was celebrated at the home of Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Fuller on South State street. The bride, Miss Alithea Fuller, has only been a resident of the city for a few years, but in that time has made many friends. The groom, Mr. John T. Grimsley, is a partner in the great dry goods house of R. F. Herndon & Co., and a son of the late Mrs. Dr. Brown. The ceremony was impressively performed by Rev. F. W. Taylor, D. D., rector of St. Paul’s Church. The bride and groom were unattended, save by the parents of the bride, who gave her away. The bride was attractively attired in a handsome going-away gown of novelty cloth, with velvet trimmings. After partaking of a wedding breakfast, the bride and groom left for a short bridal tour, after which they will be at home at the residence of the groom, North Grand avenue and Sixth street. Friends present from out of the city were: Dr. {Francis Walton] Todd, uncle of the groom, from San Francisco. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Foster of Decatur, Mrs. Fannie Young of Albuquerque, N. M., and Misses Sarah and Louie Boyd of Decatur. Many handsome gifts were received by Mr. and Mrs. Grimsley from friends abroad as well as in the city.

Daily Inter Ocean, Chicago, Illinois, Saturday, May 23, 1896.399

1898

Death of Dr. Francis Walton Todd

(1816-1898)

Dr. Francis Walton Todd, Elizabeth’s brother, died on August 5, 1898, in Capitola,

California, at age 82.

Journal, Sunday, August 7, 1898.400 Grave of Dr. Francis Walton Todd

399 Daily Inter Ocean, Chicago, Illinois, Saturday, May 23, 1896, Volume: XXV, Issue: 60, Section: Part Second, p. 15. 400 Journal, Sunday, August 7, 1898, p. 6.

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FRANCIS WALTON TODD, M.D., was born at Bardstown, Ky., April 17, 1816, and was educated at

Illinois College, Jacksonville, III. In March, 1838, he was graduated in medicine at Cincinnati College

under the tutelage of Drs. Drake, Willard Parker, Fash McDowell and Samuel D. Gross, and in 1839 he

went to Port Gibson, Miss, where he practiced his profession until February, 1847, when he joined the

army of General Scott as an assistant surgeon, and made the campaign to the city of Mexico. After the

close of the war he resided in New Orleans until the spring of 1849, when he went to Panama, and was

employed by the chief engineer superintendent of the railroad, then building, to take care of his sick,

which he did until the steamer Panama came around from New York, on which vessel he went to

California, arriving at San Francisco June 4, 1849. For several years he resided at Todd’s Valley, Placer

County, and to the practice of medicine he added horticulture and viticulture in which he was successful,

but the mines having become exhausted, and the population gone to other pursuits, together with his

remoteness from market he gave away a property that had cost him a large sum and removed to

Stockton, where he gave twenty years to medicine, except three years spent in Europe. During this time

he held, for several years, the office of member of the first State Board of Health, was a delegate to the

International Congress in 1876 at Philadelphia, was one year the secretary, three years a vice-president,

and one year president of the State Medical Society of California, president of the Board of Health of

Stockton, for two years president of the San Joaquin Society of California Pioneers, and as long as the

Society existed was secretary of the San Joaquin County Medical Society. Retiring at the age of 72

years, from a laborious practice, he sought ease in retirement at Coronado, Los Angeles, and other

resorts. Dr. Todd was a mason and Knight Templar and died at Capitola, Cal., Aug. 5, 1898, strong in

the faith of the Christian religion.401

1899

Death of Frances “Fanny” Jane Todd Wallace

(1817-1899)

Frances “Fanny” Jane Todd Wallace, Mary Lincoln’s sister and widow of

Dr. William Wallace, died at age 82 on August 14, 1899. She is buried at Oak

Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois.

401 The Journal of the American Medical Association https://books.google.com/books?id=Pe45AQAAMAAJ 1898 - Medicine

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Tuesday, August 15, 1899

Paper: Daily Illinois State Register (Springfield, Illinois)

Page: 5

Mrs. John Todd Grimsley Advertises For White Cook

Missing GET

Register, Wednesday, December 27, 1899402

402 Register, Wednesday, December 27, 1899, p. 9.

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1901

Death of Mary Virginia Nash Stuart

(1816-1901)

Mary Virginia Nash Stuart, widow of John Todd Stuart, died on May 31, 1901, in

Springfield, Illinois, at age 84y 9m 16d and was buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery.

Stuart—At the residence of her son-in-law C. C. Brown, 1119 South Fourth street, Friday, May 31, 1901, at 3:30 p.m.

of old age, Mrs. Mary Virginia Nash Stuart, widow of the late John Todd Stuart, age 85 years.

Mrs. Stuart was one of the oldest residents of this city, having lived here continuously since 1837. She was the only

child of Francis Nash and Judith Bland Nash, and was born on Aug. 25, 1816, near Richmond, Va. When she was

quite young her father moved to the territory of Missouri. The trip was an eventful one even in that day of migrations,

and was made by carriage and flat boat. With the expectation that there would be a large city on the west bank of the

Mississippi, General Nash purchased a tract of land at the juncture of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers about fifteen

miles from the present city of St. Louis, which was then but a small village.

Upon the death of her father Mrs. Stuart went to Jacksonville to reside with her uncle, Judge Samuel D. Lockwood,

then one of the judges of the supreme court of Illinois. She was married on October 25, 1837, to John Todd Stuart, of

this city. Mrs. Stuart first lived on Jefferson street near First street. When Major Stuart was elected to congress in

1835, Mrs. Stuart accompanied him to Washington and lived there during his first term. About 1840, Mr. and Mrs.

Stuart built a residence on South Fourth street, opposite to the governor’s mansion where they lived until the death of

Major Stuart in 1885. Mrs. Stuart was a woman of high intellectual attainments, of most dignified and pleasing

manners, and possessed of interesting and independent convictions. Although her husband was what might be called

an old-line Whig with a leaning toward the democratic party, Mrs. Stuart always advocated the principles of the

republican party. During her long lifetime she was a consistent member of the Presbyterian church. She had a large

acquaintance with the prominent men and women of the country and related many interesting anecdotes of Webster and

Calhoun, Clay, Benton and the men of later times.

She was the mother of three daughters, Bettie J. Stuart, wife of C. C. Brown, Virginia and Hannah, of whom Hannah

alone survives here, and four sons, John T., Frank N., Robert L. and Edward, of whom are left John T. of Chicago, and

Robert L. of this city.

The funeral will occur Sunday afternoon at 3 o’clock from the late residence. The interment will be at Oak Ridge

cemetery.

1902

Dr. John Todd’s Sixth Street House Torn Down

This newspaper account of the raising of the Dr. John Todd house is filled with errors to

numerous to mention. It does, however, set the date for the demolition of house.

Building at 322 South Sixth Street is Being Removed

The building at 322 South Sixth, now vacant, but lately occupied by Doctor Fowler and which was once

the home of Mary Todd, afterward the wife of Abraham Lincoln, is now being razed. Myers and Van

Duyn, who own the property, intend to build a modern structure on the site but have not yet decided

what sort of a building it will be.

This property, which for years was known as the Ferguson property and which has in its time been a

place of residence of the best citizens of the city, has tumbled into decay and soon will be but a memory.

Capt. R. H. Ferguson’s father built the residence and soon after its completion Dr. John Todd came to

Springfield, with four nieces, and moved into it. Doctor Todd’s four charges afterward became the

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wives of well-known citizens. One became the wife of the future president of the United States, another

became the wife of C. M. Smith, the third became Mrs. W. S. Wallace, and the fourth took the name of

Mrs. N. W. Edwards. It was at the home of the last named, in another part of the city that Lincoln

courted Mary Todd and there he was married to her.

The Todd’s lived at 322 South Sixth street a few years when Mr. Ferguson built a home for them on the

lot where Myers and Van Duyn’s establishment now is located, and a few years later this house was

taken from its foundation and removed to a point on North Sixth street.

The next occupant of the old Todd home, at 322 South Sixth street, was J. Newton Francis, one of the

early associate proprietors of the Journal. Mr. Francis became a member of the firm in 1838. He died

in 1843.

Mrs. Henrietta Ulrich was the next to occupy the place, which even at that late day was looked upon as

an elegant residence site. It was after Mrs. Ulrich moved that the place began to be let promiscuously

and its occupants became less known. Mrs. Ulrich was the mother of E. R. Ulrich and will be

remembered as the one whom Henrietta street was named after, when a tract of land belonging to the

family in that part of the city was made an addition to Springfield.

When Doctor Fowler took up his residence in the house and converted a portion of it into an office for

the reception of patients the place began to regain some of its old value. Four years ago Doctor Fowler

moved away and since then the house has been vacant.

Journal, Thursday, April 24, 1902.403

403 Journal, Thursday, April 24, 1902, p. 5.

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1907

Dr. John Todd’s Heirloom Watch Stolen at Roy F. Donaldson’s

A burglar entered the residence of Roy F. Donaldson, 802 West Edwards street, at about 7 o’clock last

evening, in the absence of the family, and completely ransacked the house and made away with a solid

gold watch of great value. When Mrs. Donaldson returned to her home in the evening, she was

surprised on entering the front door, to hear someone run through the living room to the rear of the

house, and out the back door. She immediately saw that the house had been thoroughly searched for the

furniture was disarranged and the blinds had been run to the tops of the windows to supply more light.

The thief made away with a solid gold hunting case watch which was formerly the property of Mrs.

[Mary] Donaldson’s great grandfather, Lockwood Todd. [Granddaughter of Elizabeth Todd Gimsley

Brown] The watch was presented to Lockwood Todd, Jr. by his father [Dr. John Todd] on March 1,

1848, and was an heirloom of the family. The watch was elaborately engraved with data of the family

record and could be easily identified. On the small inner lid of the back of the case of case-watch was

engraved: “Presented to Lockwood Todd by his father March 1, 1848.” On the inside of the back

outside lid of the watch was engraved the name of Mrs. _. ; _. __. Todd and the date of birth and death.

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On the inside of the front lid of the case was engraved the name of Dr. John Todd with the dates of birth

and death. The watch, besides being very valuable, has a most interesting history.

It was not found that the thief took any other article of value an it is thought that he had not yet been

able to completely search the house when he was scared away buy the return of rs. Donaldson. A sack

partially filled with candy that had been left on the library table by the little ___ Alice Donaldson, was

taken by the intruder.

The fellow man ____ through the rear door of the house and ran west. His track in the damp earth in the

back yard can be plainly seen.404

Register, December 18, 1907

1908

John T. Grimsley Living at 1205 North Sixth Street.

The 1908 Springfield City Directory listed John T. Grimsley living at 1205 North Sixth

Street and working at R. F. Herndon & Co.

1909

John T. Grimsley Living at 1205 North Sixth Street

The 1909 Springfield City Directory listed John T. Grimsley living at 1205 North Sixth

Street.

404 Register, Wednesday, December 18, 1907, p. 7.

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1910-1911

John T. Grimsley Living at 1722 South Fourth Street

The 1910-1911 Springfield City Directory listed John T. Grimsley living at 1722 South

Fourth and working as a department manager at R. F. Herndon & Co.

1912

John T. Grimsley Living at 1722 South Fourth Street

The 1912 Springfield City Directory listed John T. Grimsley and his wife Aletha living at

1722 South Fourth.

1891-1892

1892-1893

Elizabeth Brown Living at 1205 North Sixth Street

The Springfield City Directories for 1891-1892 and 1892-1893 listed Elizabeth Brown as

a widow living at 1205 North Sixth.

1919

John Todd Grimsley Gives Lincoln Trunk to Harry E. Baker

In 1919, Elizabeth Grimsley Brown’s son, John Todd Grimsley, gave the Lincoln trunk to

Harry E. Barker, a Springfield book, manuscripts and relics dealer. In 1929 the Kentucky

collector William H. Townsend, who had been looking for an “authentic relic associated with

Abraham Lincoln’s life in Springfield,” learned of the trunk through his friend Dr. William E.

Barton, the Lincoln scholar. Townsend traveled to Springfield to see it, interviewed Elizabeth’s

granddaughter Mary Donaldson, thoroughly satisfied himself as to the trunk’s history, and bought

it. It remained with Townsend until he sold it in 1963 to Justin G. Turner.

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1920

Death of John Todd Grimsley

(1848-1920)

John Todd Grimsley, Elizabeth Todd Grimsley’s son, died on November 20, 1920, in

Washington, D. C. at age 72. He was survived by his wife, Aletha Fuller Grimsley, three

daughters, Elizabeth and Aletha and Mrs. Roy Donaldson, and one granddaughter, Helen C.

Donaldson. John was brought back to Springfield and buried in the Todd plot in Oak Ridge

Cemetery.

Grave of John Todd Grimsley, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois

The Todd Family Plinth in Oak Ridge Cemetery

Register, November 21, 1920.405

Register, November 23, 1920.406

405 Register, November 21, 1920, p. 18. 406 Register, November 23, 1920, p. 11.

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1925

Grimsley Trunk Document

October 30, 1858 Final Speech of Abraham Lincoln in 1858 Campaign

On October 30, 1858, Abraham Lincoln gave his final speech in the campaign for Senator

and that speech was discovered and sold by Elizabeth Brown’s great grandson. The document

was once in the famous trunk that Abraham Lincoln gave to Elizabeth Grimsley before he left for

Washington D. C. in 1861.

February 12, 1925, New York Times

Not quite sixty years after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln there has come to public view an

utterance of the martyred President which dates back to the tempestuous days of his debates with

Stephen A. Douglas. It is the text of a speech, hitherto unpublished; a speech which he made in

Springfield, Ill., Oct. 30. 1858, after the debates were finished. and as that famous campaign for the

Senatorship from Illinois was ending.

The undated and unsigned one-page fragment is being sold by a great-grandson of Mary Todd Lincoln’s

cousin Elizabeth Todd Grimsley of Springfield, Ill., who has not been identified. The speech draft was

left with Mrs. Grimsley in a carpetbag filled with Lincoln’s papers when the Lincolns moved to

Washington in 1861. After Lincoln’s assassination, some contents of that carpetbag, which Lincoln had

called his “literary bureau,” were dispersed to collectors seeking relics of the President.

“According to the family legend,” Mr. Kiefer said, “the carpetbag was destroyed accidentally by a

servant after this page had been removed, sometime between 1900 and 1916.